Improvement in bridles



y, @uitrit '.fatr @anni @fitta IMPROVEMENT IN BBIDLES.

GEORGE H. ALBRIGHT AND WILLIAMLR. BURNS,i OF LAN GASTER i PENN SYLVAN IA.l

Letters Patent No. 59,937, dated November-27, .1866.

SPEQIFIQATION. TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: A

' Bc it known that we, GEORGE H. Atnnren'r, and WILLIAM H. Beans, of Lancaster, n the county of Lancaster,

and State f Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improved mode in the construction of Safety Bridles; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of thecons"truction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-` Figure 1 is a view of' an ordinary plain bridle,.with our improvement applied.

Figure 2 shows the same, and it's operation on the horse.

Figure 3 shows the face-piece A, and continued gag-reins e c', cut out of a single strap of leather, or

formed in one piece.

Figure 4 shows the cylindrical case and spiral sp1-ing enclosed with the rod and loops. i

Figure 5, the external casing of the spring and loops ff, or snap-hook f", with the line I attached to loop f. .t V i Figure 6 shows the short strap and buckle D, on the common line I, for making the connections c c', of the extended face-piece A, and gag-reins c c. i

y The object of our invention is to simplify and at the same time to increase the power of the safety bridle, without any 'change made in the ordinary plain line and bridle, save the addition of prolonging the face-pieces into gag-reins, and consequently doing away with their use, and a short strap and buckle on the line, and spring casing to connect between the line and rings on the bit. The` construction is so simple and Y the drawings so clearly show the parts, as to require very few words'of description, The facepiece A, fig.-"3, is formed of a single piece of good harness leather, say one'and one-fourth inch wide, split to the length ofnine inches down in front, with a buckle and billet, a a', to each, to be fastened tothe rings, G G', of` the bitfH. These billets and lappings may be eight or nine inches long. An undividedportonof said face-piece, of three inches, is left (A, fig. 3 this maybe covered -with a neat ornament, coming on the forehead of the horse. The i balance of the strap is split, say for forty inches, simply pierced for the insertion of the tongue of the buckle, en the short strap D, affixed to the line I. The divided strap Iis simply inserted under a loopsrtrap B, on the top "of the crown-piece of the bridle, and carried backl on each side of the neck of the horse, and buckled to the lines I, as shown. This single strap, split at Vboth ends, (or when made of separate pieces and united, or passing through loops, independently,) being at one end attached to the' rings of the bit, and the other end to the line over the top of the horses head, Where the fulcrum of power' or leverage is the greatest; acting over the horsetiface, instead of along the cheeks. Besides, this attachment, being made to the line behind thering or loop, E, of the haines, where the two diverge, a further leverage is obtained by compressing this'angle of divergency between.: t

said ring or loop, E, and no intervening appliance to said gag-rein and facfpiece, thus unitedland attached to the rings of the bit, forming the ordinary facepiece, (however, heretofore never attached* to the bi`ttliat we know oi`,) and at the same time a substitute for the ordinary gag-rein, rather lesseuing the` ordinary cost and labor on 4bridles, than otherwise. Inorder to relieve the horse from the action of the combined gag-rein and {Esce-piece, we attach a spiral spring, F, encased in a cylinder, F, of suiiicient length and power in the spring i for ordinary use in guidingtlle horse. This is also connected to the rings of the bitat one end, and the springrod, with its loopf, to the end of an ordinary line, I. The operation is such, that any extxja'frce applied to the line will cause the spring to yield' and throw the action of the pull upon the gag-reins and face-piece, C A, and draw the bit upwards in the horses mouth, in a more e'ectiial manner, 'there being n o friction or side action to overcome, and the leverage so powerful as to require but little' force to. bring theirrnosttobstinato horse into subjection. l l l 9 I am aware that various devices are employed to the same end, such as connecting a combinedthroat-latch and face-piece with the bit, and forming double connections from the lines to the rings of Vthe bit, with or without the intervention of gum-elastic, either combined with leather billets, or tubular snap and ring case, as well as double lines; all of which, however, differ substantially, in their action being connected with the cheelkspiecie` or its substitute, and when connected with a face-piece, combined with the throat-latch; all of which modes of construction we disclaim, believing that therchanges of the weather will seriously interfere with the action of the gum-elastic. Severe cold induces a stiffness, andgreat heat a fiaccidity that, to say the least, makes its unreliable, not to mention its impaired functions on exposure and action for a season, encased in' leather' or exposed to rain and sunshine; -so that we do not deem it equivalent to our spring, encased and secured from dust and Water, made of proper 'metalliel materials, besides being a still more simple attachment than when made of gum and encasedtiu the leather ends forming'part of, the bridle, and unitedly passed through the rings of thefbit. Nor is our branch, (as it may be dee med,) acting directly over the hoiseshead, substantiallyA the same-es when both branches, (hoivever long or short,) are directly connected at theA horse's mouth, either into the rings of the bit unitedly, 01. separately to the'rings-o` the bit and rings of the cheek-piece or safety strap.

What We claim as oui` invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent,-is The constructionY and combination of the gag-reins c c', face-peces A, passing over the horses head, one branch thereof connected to the bit by the cased-spring F, when the united branches arise from the single bit, and untedly connected with an .ordinary lineand bridle, in tle manner and for'the purpose specied.

GEORGE H. ALBRIGHT,

WM. R. BURN S.

vWitnesses:

W. B. WILEY, JACOB STAUFEER.' 

